To Go Like a Man
is the first episode of Martian Successor Nadesico. It first aired on October 1, 1996 in Japan. Synopsis It's the late 22nd century, and the Jovian lizards are attacking earth. Nergal Heavy Industries decides to build its own battleship, the ''Nadesico'', to take on the invaders. Captained by the ditsy yet tactically brilliant Yurika Misumaru, and crewed by an bunch of misfits, does the Nadesico stand a chance against this new threat to humanity MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO Ep.1 "To Go Like a Man"? Meet the members of the Nadesico crew as they launch into battle against the Jovian invaders Martian Successor Nadesico - Ep. 01 (S): To Go "Like a Man". Plot Act One On October 1, 2195, at the , the first in a series of massive Jovian objects called Chulips head towards the Martian south pole, Admiral Jin Fukube tells his comrades that they must prevent it from landing on Mars at all costs. As the Chulip begins to open up, the UEF ships hold their fire until the enemy has entered targeting range in accordance to Admiral Fukube's orders. The Chulip opens up, revealing a glimpse of the planet Jupiter and the Jovian ships that arrive through it. Admiral Fukube orders the UEF ships to fire but their beam projectiles are repelled somehow (a Graviton wave shield according to Adrmial Fukube) whereas the Jovian ships fire straight at them. When multiple bogeys arrive from the jewels of the Chulip, Admiral Munetake orders them to use lasers but the bogeys dodge the laser beams with ease. With only 60 seconds until the Chulip reaches the Martian south pole, Admiral Fukube gives the order to abandon ship and decides to ram the Chulip with part of his own ship which detaches. The Utopia Colony of Mars gets destroyed as the Chulip crashes. Refugees try to survive underground, a soldier tries to contact HQ but an old man tells the soldier that he is wasting his time, believing everything on the surface must've been vaporized, and takes a drink out of a flask. Among the refugees is Akito Tenkawa, he offers an orange to a young girl named Ai and she is grateful, Ai asks if Akito is married and her mother laughs. Suddenly, a Batta, a yellow Jovian robot, breaks through the walls and attacks the refugees. Akito uses himself to shield Ai and her mother. The soldier informs the refugees that a the power is gone, the old man tries to open the doors manually. Other soldiers shoot at the Batta without luck. Akito tries to hold off the robot while the refugees escape, he jumps onto a vehicle, activates it with his implant, and rams the robot into a wall, successfully disabling the Batta. The doors open but unfortunately there are more Batta robots behind the them, they kill the refugees, including Ai and her mother. Akito becomes frightened when the Batta he disabled starts moving again and more surround him. His necklace glows while he screams, and he starts seeing visions of his childhood friend, Yurika Misumaru. One year has now passed since the disastrous defeat at the first battle of Mars, if the military continues to be unable to stop the invaders, the Earth will soon fall as well, as Nergal Heavy Industries staff discuss. They ask Goat Hory to carry out an assignment, Prospector tries to persuade him with the offer of lovely young women, and (after taking out his calculator) a bonus, Goat asks if it after taxes. Goat and Prospector now proceed to assemble human resources, aka the crew. Prospector has chosen the very best, of course some of them have slight personality disorders. First they track down Seiya Uribatake, who is welding a female robot called Nina Lilly, although unlicensed, he is a skilled engineer, he accepts to get away from his wife and son. The second member to be recruited is the secretary to the company's president, Minato Haruka. They also hire an anime voice actress named Megumi Reinard and a mysterious girl named Ruri Hoshino. At a house belonging to UE Forces admiral Kouichiro Misumaru, Jun Aoi waits outside the bedroom of his best friend, Admiral Misumaru's daughter; Yurika Misumaru. Jun has recently considered quiting the UEF to follow Yurika to Nergal. The Admiral is upset that his daughter is late and tries to open the door, but she is still getting dressed. Jun fails to stop the Admiral from opening the door and upon seeing Yurika, Yurika screams, Jun blushes and Admiral Misumaru cries tears of happiness because his little girl is now a woman. Yurika throws a gym bag at them both. Jun and Yurika leave for the Nadesico in a car with the trunk lid open since they have so much luggage. Admiral Misumari stays behind with his butler and waiter, proud that his daughter is not only an officer but is well endowed as well. As explosions take place in the sky, a United Forces recruitment advert plays on a Banasonic television at Saizou's Restaurant in the city of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The television suddenly cuts out into static. A man reading a newspaper complains that there is yet another air raid, another man asks what is holding up his stir fry; Akito, now a fry cook in Sasebo, is having a panic attack. Some of the customers go outside to see the battles, one believes they are no match for the Jovians, another guy interrupts so they can check out Akito freaking out. A customer asks Saizou if his fry cook is sick but Akito is just scared...of the Jovians. Akito remembers the incident on Mars with Ai and screams as loudly as possible for a while until he realizes he burned what he was frying causing the customers and staff to fall over. Later, Saizou gives Akito two weeks severance pay on the card he has for his because Akito is now fired. Saizou is afraid word will get out that he has a scared pilot working at his restaurant. Akito denies he is a pilot but Saizou tells him that on Earth, only pilots have cybernetic implants combined with the fact that Akito froze up earlier that day. Saizou tells Akito that he cannot keep running away from his problems forever. At a full moon night. Akito rides his bicycle through the streets carrying his belongings and cooking utensils on a large backpack. Yurika and Jun's car rushes past and Yurika's suitcase knocks Akito off his bike. Yurika apologizes. As Jun fails to close the lid to the car's trunk, Akito helps Yurika to pack, while doing so he accidentally picks up her panties. Yurika feels that she and Akito have met before but Akito does not feel the same. Yurika continues on her journey to the Nadesico and thanks Akito. After they leave, Akito notices that they forgot a photo frame, he turns it over to find a photograph of himself and Yurika. Akito realizes that the girl he just met was his childhood friend on Mars. Afterwards, he pedals his bicycle as fast as possible in order to get to the Nadesico and find out if Yurika knows the truth about something that happened on Mars. Act Two At the , on board the new ND-001 Nadesico, Admiral Sadaaki Munetake is shocked to find out from Prospector and Goat that he is not needed. As he complains about how the crew are mostly teenage girls, Minato, Ruri and Megumi discuss him. Admmiral Munetake whom Ruri considers to be an idiot, looks familiar to Megumi and she asks Minato if he dropped his ship on the Mars colony, Minato supposes that they can't blame him for being upset. Goat defends the decision to recruit them as they are experts in their fields and that their assigned Captain has never been beaten in simulations. Admiral Munetake asks where she is when only seconds later, Yurika and Jun arrive, she makes a victory sign with a her hand to make a good first impression, everyone else is confused and Ruri thinks they may have another idiot. Meanwhile, Akito has been captured, a Security Guard informs Prospector that he arrived at the Nadesico and was raising a ruckus; demanding to see Yurika to out the truth. Prospector notices Akito's implant and assumes he is a pilot assigned to the Nadesico but Akito denies it, claiming to be a cook which makes the guard think that he is a loony. Prospector takes a sample of Akito's DNA from his tongue and identifies him as Akito Tenkawa, realizing that he is a refugee from the Utopia Colony, he asks Akito how he got to Earth after the colony was destroyed but Akito cannot remember, all he knew was that one moment he was on Mars and the next, he was on Earth. Prospector asks him why he must see Yurika, Akito explains that back when he was on Mars, when they were kids, he knew her, he thinks she might know why his parents were killed. Prospector realizes that Akito has had a tough time and as Akito claims to be a cook, Prospector recruits him as one for the Nadesico. Prospector shows Akito images of Nergal's new battleship and tells him to get to know her since she wont be taking off for a while. In the hangar where the Aestivalis mecha are kept, pilot Gai Daigoji imitates a Gekigan Punch move from his favorite anime, Gekigangar 3, in an Aestivalis Ground Battle Frame. While Akito watches from above, Seiya Uribatake, via loudspeaker, tells Gai to get out as Gai tries to perform a Gekigan Blade. According to Seiya, their pilots aren't supposed to arrive for three days but Gai explains that when he heard they were going to be piloting Real Robots, he couldn't get there fast enough. Gai proceeds to perform his original move "Gai Super Upper". While Akito reminisces about the fact he too grew up watching Gekigangar, Gai trips the Aestivalis over. Gai likes how when he moves his arms and legs, the robot does the same just like on Gekigangar. Gai rhetorically asks Seiya if he's a "born pilot". Seiya explains to him that using the latest Image Feedback technology, even a child/baby could move one. Gai Daigoji introduces himself to Seiya but according to the tablet Seiya has, the profile states his name to be Jiro Yamada. That is the boring name that his mother gave him but Gai Daigoji is the name that belongs to his soul. Gai stands up, sending a taunting message to the "evil Jovians" it is at this moment he feels the injury he got from tripping over. Seiya tells him that he broke his leg but he is in denial. Gai screams and asks Akito up on the catwalk to get his most precious possession still inside the Aestivalis cockpit. Akito questions Gai's mental age when he sees that Gai's most precious possession is a Gekigangar toy. Whilst in the cockpit, however, a ship-wide announcement states that their ground forces are engaged in combat with the enemy's tactical weapons and that all bridge crew should report to the combat command center immediately. Akito has another panic attack because they are here. Outside, the UE Spacy's artillery are being used against the yellow airbone Jovian mecha. The residents of Sasebo watch the battle in the distance wondering what the Jovians must be thinking attacking their city. Among them is Saizou, who hopes that poor Akito isn't watching that. Whilst the Joro, red arachnoid robots, get destroyed, the crew are briefed in the combat command center. According to Goat, the Jovians' attacks are being concentrated directly above their position (the underground dock built into Yumihari Montain, Sasebo). Admiral Fukube thinks Goat is suggesting that the Nadesico is the Jovians' target, with that in mind, Admiral Munetake believes they should hit the Jovians where it hurts; sweep the perimeter with the Nadesico's energy cannons, burning the Jovians to a crisp. Megumi asks if he's proposing to vaporize their own fighters, Admiral Munetake affirms since he believe that the pilots will die anyway. Megumi asks Minato if she would call that cold blooded or cowardly, Admiral Munetake squeals. Admiral Fukube decides to asks Captain Misumaru for her suggestions. As she requires a decoy for her plan, Gai Daigoji, volunteers to engage the enemy with his giant robot and lure them away from the base. Gai proclaims it his destiny so Seiya reminds Gai of the triple compound fracture he got falling over in his Aestivalis. Ruri announces that they already have a decoy; there's a robot in the main elevator shaft. It is Akito in a Aestivalis Ground Frame. Refusing to be trapped inside the ship. Fukube comes onto the screen asking for identification. Akito states himself to be the ship's cook. Gai notices Akito still has his Gekigangar toy. Jun and Captain Misumaru both appear to remember him from their encounter earlier in the day. She tries to remember the name "Tenkawa" while Mr. Prospector explains to Gai that he recruited the Martian Akito as a cook. Yurika finally remembers that Akito as her childhood friend on Mars. Beliving Akito is volunteering to be "her knight in shining armor". She entrusts the fate of the Nadesico and all of her crew to Akito and asks him to promise her that he will come back alive. Ruri tells Akito that the elevator is about to reach ground level, Megumi wishes him good luck and Godspeed and Gai demands the Gekigangar toy back. Akito has reached ground level and he is surrounded by Joro, Goat instructs him to keep enemy occupied within the 10 minutes he's given. Akito is momentarily frozen with fear. He remembers Yurika's words and uses his implant. He runs away. Gai wants him to get back and fight like a man whereas Admiral Munetake use the Nadesico's cannon. Yurika will not let Akito die. Ruri opens the underwater doors. Minato reports that the engines are ready so Ruri launches the ship. Looking at the timer on his console, he sees seven minutes is not enough and decides to turn around, sick and tired of running from the "monsters", he uses a rocket punch move and destroys a Joro. He compares it to a Gekigan punch. Although he believes he may not be as bad with the pilot stuff after all, his doubts arise as he remembers Ai whom he believes the be dead but this moment is quickly ended as an airborne Batta variant opens fire on him. Several airbone Batta variants pick up the Joro mecha and retreat. Whilst retreating, the airbone Batta variants launch barrages of missiles on him. But with the implants, Akito shoddily destroys all of the missiles. The Nadesico rises out of the water with the Aestivalis standing on top of its bow. Yurika has rushed the schedule for Akito's sake and the Nadesico fires its main cannon earlier than intended. Ruri reports that all of the enemy were destroyed, their ground forces were hit heavily but only five deaths were reported. Admiral Munetake attributes the low number of casualties to luck and coincidence but Admiral Fukube tells him to recognize Yurika's achievements and congratulates Yurika. Akito has returned from battle and tries to ask Yurika the truth. However at every attempt to explain, Yurika takes it as an action of love e.g. thinking Akito's unstated question is one of marriage. Megumi is worried about the future, Minato thinks it might look interesting, Gai wants his Gekigangar back from "fry boy" Akito and Ruri thinks that they are all idiots. Stats Characters Mechanic Quotes Songs *You Get To Burning *Being Myself Notes & Trivia *The logo on the television at the restaurant where Akito works is branded "Banasonic", a reference to real life electronics manufacturer Panasonic. *The first Kanji in Saizou's resturant's sign is 雪 *The logo on Yurika & Jun's car resembles the Mercedes logo. *The sound director who allows Megumi to be hired by Nergal is based on the sound director of the series, Hideyuki Tanaka. Dub Differences *In the original, Ai asks Akito out on a date when they first meet but in the dub, she asks him if he's married. *In the original, when the Sasebo residents watch the battle, Saizou wonders if Akito is trembling whereas in the dub, Saizou hopes that Akito isn't watching the battle, also. *In the original, when mentioning that Yurika has never been defeated in simulations to Admiral Munetake, Goat also says Yurika is a graduate of United Earth University. References 01